Disclaimers:This story is categorized
as fan fiction. The characters of Xena,Gabrielle, et al, which have appeared in
the series Xena: WarriorPrincess, belong to the producers, writers and executives
of Renaissance Pictures and MCA/Universal Television. I claim only to have borrowed
them, without intent to profit or infringe theserights, for the purpose of creating
this story for enjoyment of the series' fans, of which I count myself one of many.

Additionally, the story below
contains references, explicit and implied, of a sexual relationship between
two consenting adults of the same sex. If you are not of legal age to read this
story, or such material is illegal where you live, or you do not feel comfortable
with such content, please refrain from reading this story.

Xena peered over the ledge, studying
the military encampment nestled in the valley below. She could just make out
a dozen tents, arranged in a semi-circle around a bonfire. Men in rough leathers
reclined on log benches drinking from skins undoubtedly filled with wine if
not something stronger.

In her many years Xena had spied
on many camps, from warlords to Athenian military. Some were unusually arranged
with the commander's tent on the outskirts instead of inside, or with the corralled
horses deep in the center instead of upwind. But never, Xena thought. Never
have I seen one so clean.

Xena gestured. "You know his
standard as well as I do. What's that flag tell you?"

Gabrielle studied the dark square
of fabric waving in the breeze from a pole near the bonfire. It was an elaborate
design, hard to mistake for anything other than what it was -- or rather whose
it was. "Draco." She shook her head. "But it's so clean?! And small. Where are
all his men?"

"From the rumors I heard, coming
back empty handed from Hestia angered a lot of his men. A lieutenant demanded
he give up his army and leave. A few men obviously went with him."

"So how'd he get to keep the
standard?"

"Family crest, so I guess they
let him take it with him." Xena shrugged. "Want to go in for a better look?
Maybe we can get Draco to give us the details."

Gabrielle shook her head. "I'm
not going down there. Draco may have cleaned up his looks, but he's still a
warlord."

Xena looked over the encampment
again. "No way. That's not the camp of a warmaker. Too open."

"How could he change so much
in four months?" Gabrielle was still skeptical.

"Ask him." Xena stepped out from
the ledge, finding a path down the mountain wending its way to the valley floor.

The two women were challenged
at the perimeter of the camp and told to wait while Draco was summoned. Xena
patiently studied the camp; Gabrielle was a bundle of pacing anxiety. She remembered
every minute of her last meeting with Draco, cringing again at the declarations
of unending love. Gabrielle stopped pacing. There was only one for her.

With a look of gentle admiration
on her face and a gaze of concern, Gabrielle watched as Xena greeted Draco with
the firm forearm clasp of kindred warriors.

"What brings you here, Xena?"
asked the dark-skinned warrior.

Xena turned, bringing Draco's
attention to Gabrielle with a wide sweep of her arm. "We were in the neighborhood.
I heard of a man who needed an army."

Draco smiled at the Warrior Princess.
Then his gaze fell to Gabrielle. "I don't need an army anymore," he said, his
eyes raking over the bard's trim muscled figure. "Just a few to help with cleaning
up this province."

Xena looked around. "No more
war spoils?"

Draco shook his head. "I turned
most of it over to the Athenian authority. They'll see it gets to the right
people. The rest I sold to pay my men in coin -- for staying with me."

Xena nodded. Made sense. A different
kind of man worked for pay instead of spoils, a more loyal man, a more reliable
soldier. And since coin didn't go very far, a smaller cadre of men was the natural
result.

"And how do you feed them?" Gabrielle
asked.

Draco looked affronted. "I've
made arrangements with a few farming towns in the area to trade defensive advice
for supplies."

Xena put a hand on Gabrielle's
shoulder. In explanation to the warrior, Xena said, "You have to admit, this
is quite a turnaround."

"I thought about this a lot since
we last met, Gabrielle." Draco grasped the bard's hands. She had to crane her
neck to meet his gaze.

Xena remained at her back as
she answered the look in Draco's eyes. "I'm sorry, Draco. This isn't right.
I can't love you. You're doing wonderful things, but ..." She removed her hands
from his and placed them over Xena's hands on her shoulders. "I don't love you.
I won't."

Draco's face darkened. But he
looked from Gabrielle to Xena and stepped back. "So I did all this for nothing?"

"Goodbye Draco," said Gabrielle
as Xena led the way out of the former warlord's camp.

CHAPTER TWO

What was that all about?" Xena
asked when the two women settled by the fire that night.

"What?" Gabrielle picked at her
food.

"I haven't seen you shoot down
anyone so effectively since you laughed in Joxer's face outside Hestia." Xena
tied off stitching in her wrist guard and carefully bit off the extra length
of sinew.

Gabrielle couldn't concentrate
on eating while watching Xena work. It was at night, times like this, when the
warrior slowly faded into the sunset to be replaced by the woman draped in moonlight.
As Xena shrugged out of each piece of armor and leather, her appearance softened.
First, as always, the brass-tooled bustiere was carefully inspected and set
aside. And Xena's shoulders would release the constant stiffness.

Then, the thigh-guards and boots
would come off, along with the cloths she wrapped around her feet. And Xena
wiggled her toes. Gabrielle liked that moment a lot. It made her see the child
Xena had been. The bard would imagine a barefoot child running through the fields
outside Amphipolis so long ago. While her toes wriggled, Xena always checked
every inch of the leather and lacing for wear.

Gabrielle liked to tell her stories
while Xena was shedding her warrior self. Tonight was no different. As Xena
removed her other wrist guard, Gabrielle spoke. "Would you care for a story
tonight, Xena?"

Xena looked at Gabrielle. "Is
it going to be a thinly veiled lecture?"

Gabrielle was affronted. "No.
You haven't done anything today to be lectured about." She grinned broadly then
softened to a warm smile. "The moonlight is beautiful. I was reminded of a love
story."

Xena smiled. "A love story, hmm?
All right, I'm listening." She set aside the rest of her armor, sitting on the
log bathed in golden moonlight. She reclined as Gabrielle began her tale.

The bard's voice slipped an octave
lower. And in this narrator's voice she began:

"I shall tell you of the love
of Zeus and Danae, mother of famed Perseus.

"Zeus spied a young woman walking
along the shoreline of the kingdom of Thebes. He was entranced. She was golden.
Smooth, sun-kissed skin, hair in riotous silky curls. He had a craving to see
her eyes." Gabrielle opened her eyes having closed them to envision Danae in
her head. Across the fire, she saw Xena watching her and for a moment was lost
in firelit blue eyes.

Danae had brown eyes, Zeus had
found when he swept down to see. But Gabrielle continued aloud, "Zeus transformed
himself into a goose and flew down from Olympus. Danae offered the goose some
crumbs and the god looked up into eyes as soft as the clouds and bluer than
a clear sky."

Gabrielle's gaze remained on
Xena as she spoke. Now her voice changed to that of Zeus, a throaty rumble.
"'I am the god Zeus,' he said, transforming himself into his familiarly carved
human form before Danae's gaze.

"Danae jumped in surprise," Gabrielle
continued, resuming the narrative voice. "She offered a hand when Zeus held
out his, and dropped a curtsey to the King of the gods. 'Who are you?' Zeus
asked.

"'I am Danae, daughter of the
King of Thebes,' Danae answered simply." Gabrielle's voice was delicate, unpretentious
femininity defined, about a half octave higher than her own voice and with a
silkier edge to the consonants. Gabrielle continued to switch between the voices
of Zeus and Danae as the two conversed in her story on that beach an age ago:

"I would like to walk with you,"
Zeus said, offering an arm to Danae.

Danae placed her hand just below
his crooked elbow. "I'd like that," she acknowledged.

The two walked down to the surf,
stepping in and out of the rushing waves crashing the shore. There was laughter
on the beach that day. Danae found Zeus quite talkative, not that she was all
that sure exactly what she should have expected.

Zeus found a woman unafraid of
her opinions and who talked not of fanciful things, but of practical things.
Quite a change from his wife, Hera. Danae told him of her father's kingdom and
how she wanted to correct the poverty she saw.

Zeus offered to fix it all for
her, unwilling to see the frustration on Danae's face. But Danae declined. "What
good will it do in the future? I must teach the people how to care for themselves."

Zeus nodded, impressed by her
wisdom.

Gabrielle stopped speaking as
her gaze fell on Xena. The warrior was resting her arms across her kness, gazing
into the campfire. She was very still. "Xena?"

"I'm not asleep, Gabrielle. Just
thinking. Go ahead with your story." Xena's eyes lifted from the flames, meeting
Gabrielle's. The warrior dropped her eyes after another moment though.

"What is it?" Gabrielle asked.

Xena wrinkled her nose, then
relaxed her face. Then she briefly frowned before removing evidence of that
as well and returning her blue eyes to Gabrielle's face. "You tell stories like
no one I've ever met, Gabrielle. I know most of the heroic tales. Who doesn't?
We've all heard them since we were children. But somehow when you tell a story
it's different. It's new. It's like I've never heard it before.

"Zeus and Danae in love? Who
but you would have thought it? I never did. Zeus had always taken advantage
of her. At least that's how I understood it."

Gabrielle smiled. "Gods love
too, Xena."

"Gods feel passion in my experience,
Gabrielle. Not that softer emotion." Xena sat up straighter and turned her shoulders
so she was not looking at Gabrielle.

Gabrielle sobered. She touched
Xena's shoulder. "Ares?"

"He wants me, Gabrielle." Xena's
shoulders sagged with that admission. Gabrielle read, as always, that Xena was
uncertain she could defend against the dark God of War.

The bard moved closer and said
fiercely, "Well he can't have you, Xena. I won't let him."

Xena looked at Gabrielle's hand
on her shoulder and then up into the bard's green gaze lit with the fire's glow.
Gods above, she believed the younger woman. She shook her head. "No," Xena said,
though she wasn't sure what she meant by it.

"Xena, I love you," the bard
continued with intensity. Xena realized that Gabrielle wanted her to believe.
The warrior couldn't take her eyes from the bard's as Gabrielle grasped her
chin. "He can't have you. I love you." Gabrielle's voice became rough, silky
and she bent her head, capturing Xena's mouth beneath her own.

The kiss was brief, but made
Xena shiver. Gabrielle pulled away abruptly, moving back to the other side of
the campfire. She kept her eyes averted and gazed only at the flickering flames
of the fire.

Neither woman spoke, uncertain
what exactly had just happened. Xena was not quite sure what to make of Gabrielle's
actions. The bard was passionate in an argument, always determined that Xena
see her point. But a kiss? What was the point there?

She remembered leaning to kiss
Gabrielle when they had connected in the brief moment when Autolycus gave Xena's
spirit control of his body. That gesture had been for solace. Gabrielle had
looked so lost, so alone. Xena had felt the compelling need to do something
to restore her hope, to wipe away the tears.

"Thanks, Gabrielle," said Xena
finally. "I feel better now."

Gabrielle blinked, a bit surprised
that Xena had nothing more to say. "Umm, you're welcome." She bit her lip, still
tasting Xena on her mouth. Could Xena not know? "Why don't you get some sleep?
I'll take first watch."

Xena looked around assessing
their surroundings. "I don't think we'll have any disturbances."

"Good. Then you should sleep."
Gabrielle grabbed up her staff and walked around to the other side of her log.

Xena frowned. "Gabrielle?"

"Yes?"

"Are you mad about something?"

Gabrielle realized then as she
turned around she was stiff as a tree. She consciously worked the tension out
of her muscles and turned to face Xena. "No, I'm not. Well, maybe. But not at
you. At Ares. I'm sorry he bothers you. I'd stop him if I could."

Xena nodded. "I've dealt with
Ares. I can handle him." She looked up at Gabrielle. "He won't get me. I won't
let him." She smiled. Gabrielle smiled back and returned to her blanket by the
fire, setting the staff on the ground beside her.

She rolled onto her side and
pillowed her head on her arm, watching Xena roll over getting comfortable. Finally
the warrior rolled toward Gabrielle to find the bard watching her.

"Of finding someone to love you?"
Xena chuckled. "Ditch me so I don't scare any away and you'll have suitors in
no time."

"I'd never ditch you, Xena."

"Then be prepared to grow into
an old maid."

"Hey, that's not a very flattering
image."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. A man would have to
be pretty incredible to make me stop traveling with you, anyway." Gabrielle
smiled at Xena. "So you're stuck with me until this demi-god makes an appearance."

Xena smiled, warmed inexplicably
by the thought. "Thanks, Gabrielle."

"Anytime." She rolled away from
Xena and smiled into her arm. It had been an interesting pillow talk session.
Maybe she could make a breakthrough soon.

The next morning Gabrielle's
nose twitched and she opened her eyes to the sight of a de-scaled fish swinging
in the air over her face. She screamed. Xena, holding the slimy thing by the
gills, fell backwards, laughing as Gabrielle sat up.

"Faster than it would have taken
me to roll you off the damned blankets."

"Can I help it if the sun's barest
rays on the horizon aren't enough to rouse me from sleep?" Gabrielle stood,
presented their frying pan and wrinkled her nose when Xena dropped the fish
into it.

"It may surprise you," Xena said,
wiping her hands on a cloth. "But I don't like waking up at dawn as much as
you think I do."

"But -- "

"I do it because I have to, Gabrielle.
To keep us safe -- and keep up my skills."

"I'm sorry I cause you so much
concern." Gabrielle now noticed the slight sheen of perspiration glistening
on Xena's skin. Wisps of bangs were wet against her face. Gabrielle felt a deep
guilt for a moment. Xena must have noticed.

"Don't be. I'd be a lot more
concerned if you stopped being around." The warrior touched the bard's shoulder
and walked over to Argo, cleaning up the mare for the journey ahead.

Gabrielle filleted the fish and
set about frying the pieces over their campfire. "Where are we off to today?"

Xena thought about that a moment
and decided she'd had enough of western Greece. "Let's cross the mountains and
check out the towns to the southeast."

Gabrielle nodded as she turned
over a filet with her fingers. "Can I ride with you today? I'm not up for mountains."

Xena nodded.

CHAPTER THREE

Riding that day had never seemed
so interminably long to Xena. Gabrielle was up behind her on Argo's back. The
bard had her arms wrapped tightly around Xena's waist, and her thighs pressed
against the warrior's. The contact was electric, playing havoc with her concentration.
She wondered if Gabrielle felt the same unusual sensations.

Gabrielle grinned, pressing her
face into Xena's back and hiding a smile at the warrior's sharp intake of breath.
Xena had been squirming all day. Now, as it neared evening, Gabrielle was beginning
to have hope. She took a deep breath inhaling the warrior's scent, a combination
of oiled leather and musk.

"I think we should stop and make
camp," Xena finally said. "Unless you want to ride all night."

Gabrielle nodded. Xena turned
Argo down a deer path off the mountain road. The two women found a clearing.
The mountain river tumbled down a short incline making a waterfall about twice
as tall Xena.

Gabrielle wasn't all that uncomfortable
from her ride aboard Argo, but it was apparent Xena had been. The warrior practically
jumped off the mare's back and was pulling off the saddle before Gabrielle had
completely dismounted. Xena dropped the saddle and strode around the clearing
collecting sticks.

Gabrielle removed Argo's bridle
and patted the mare, releasing her toward the river's edge. She turned to watch
Xena assembling their firepit. Intent on her task only, the warrior quickly
struck flint and fanned the new fire.

As the flames grew quickly, Gabrielle
knew it wouldn't take long for the fire to burn down low enough for cooking.
She suggested Xena go for a swim while she tended the fire.

"Are you sure?" asked Xena, wondering
why when she desperately needed space, she was even arguing.

"Positive. It'll be a while before
the fire's ready. You might have time to practice your forms before washing
up under the falls. You won't have to wake up early tomorrow just to practice."

Xena looked at the waterfall
and spotted the outcropping of rock just above the whitewater. She said, "I'm
going to the top of the falls. Yell if you need anything."

Don't worry, Gabrielle thought,
I will. She turned back to the fire as Xena walked off. She unpacked their saddlebags
and laid out the blankets on one side of the fire. On the other side, she rolled
a small log close as a seat.

When she straightened, she looked
up to the top of the falls to watch the rest of Xena's practice. The warrior
fought an imaginary enemy as she stood with her back to the river below. Xena
stepped back and Gabrielle thought she might step off the rock ledge.

Suddenly the battle cry of the
Warrior Princess pierced the stillness of the evening's silence. It made Gabrielle
jump to her feet. Xena leapt straight up, executed a tuck and twist and landed
facing her point of take off. The sword followed and Xena ended the pattern
with her arms fully extended, sword blade level at shoulder height. Gabrielle
shivered; Xena had just sliced through the throat of her "opponent."

Gabrielle sat down, keeping one
eye on the fire as she broke apart raw vegetables for a pot of soup. She kept
the other eye on Xena, as always entranced by the woman's supple movements as
she made putting her body and weapons through their paces seem effortless. The
sunset burnished the warrior's glistening skin in hues of gold and orange. The
bard quaffed some of the soup to wet her throat, which was suddenly dry.

Gabrielle put the pot to the
side of the fire, to let it simmer. Then she got to her feet and walked to the
river's edge. Wetting her hands, she wiped her face and throat. She filled the
water skins and then looked back up at Xena. The warrior must have decided she
was through exercising. Xena leapt straight into the air again, this time over
the falls. She rolled head over heels once and landed feet first in the thigh
deep water just beyond the falls' foaming rush. She walked to within a length
of Gabrielle.

Up close, Gabrielle could see
the pulse pounding against Xena's throat, could see the droplets of perspiration
in relief against her brow. "Dinner's almost ready, "Gabrielle said.

"I'll wash up," replied Xena.

Gabrielle returned to their fire
while Xena tossed her weapons, armor and leathers to the shore. Nude, she walked
into the pounding waterfall.

Xena shivered at the chill of
the water and rubbed at her face with both hands. What is wrong with me, Xena
asked herself. She rubbed her arms and legs briskly, letting the water pound
against her back and stomach. The sensation didn't alter the pounding of her
heart or the pulsing of her stomach muscles. It was as if she was expecting
sex tonight. But there wasn't any relief within days in any direction.

Xena stepped completely behind
the waterfall, letting the sound of the crashing water fill her ears as she
settled on a narrow ledge. She closed her eyes. Trying to meditate was not helping.
Snapping open her eyes, she decided she needed relief. Now.

She listened for the sound of
Gabrielle's voice on the other side of the waterfall. The bard was apparently
practicing one of her stories. Xena began to rub her hands over her body down
across taut muscles and soft breasts to the center of her aching need. Xena
closed her eyes again.

In her mind, her hands became
Marcus' hands, bringing relief as they plunged repeatedly to her depths. His
voice urged her to her release. As the waves washed over her, weakening her
knees, a new face surfaced in Xena's mind, new hands touched her. She imagined
a new voice whispering...Gabrielle?

Xena's eyes shot open and she
sat up quickly, slipping off the ledge and falling into the water. She looked
around and sighed with relief. She stepped through the veil of the waterfall
and walked toward Gabrielle seated at their fire, spooning soup into a bowl.

"I was just about to call you,"
commented Gabrielle as she put down the bowl and tossed Xena a towel. "Soup's
ready."

Xena wrapped the towel about
herself and sat down on her blankets. As she tucked the last corner, she noticed
the red flush covering her shoulders and the swell of her breasts. Heat suffused
her face, no doubt coloring her cheeks with the memory. It was too much to hope,
Xena knew, as she looked up to take the bowl of soup, that Gabrielle wouldn't
notice.

"Never knew a waterfall to be
hot," the bard said, as she pressed the bowl into Xena's hands.

"Hmm," responded the warrior
as she quickly swallowed some soup. The flush didn't dissipate as Xena felt
Gabrielle's eyes remain on her.

Then Gabrielle touched her shoulder
experimentally. Xena's muscles went rigid, preventing a jump that would have
embarrassed both her and Gabrielle. She looked up to find Gabrielle looking
down, her green eyes filled with concern. "Maybe you ought to wear a tunic under
your armor for a few days. Looks like a touch of sunburn."

Gabrielle nodded, pulling her
hands from Xena's and settled back down on the log again. She watched the warrior
pick up her soup and resume eating.

The bard couldn't help the smile
that welled up from somewhere in her middle to cover her whole face. She was
now glad she had put their blankets side by side. Maybe tonight she could snuggle
up to the warrior. Her strategy on Argo's back had obviously put Xena in a mood.
A little more enticement might tip the scales.

Gabrielle knew, from Eponin,
that some women liked the company of other women sexually. Gabrielle herself
hadn't really thought about the issue until she had acknowledged a feeling of
jealousy when watching Xena and Ulysses. She realized then, reinforced by the
memory of loss when Xena died, that she didn't ever want to be separated from
the warrior.

She hadn't considered a sexual
aspect to her love for Xena until the warrior's hugs aboard Cecrops' cursed
ship. The revelation of needing to touch and be touched by Xena had been unsettling.
But since seeing Xena with Draco, Gabrielle was determined to try and find out
if Xena could feel the same for her.

If the flush, which was now beginning
to fade on Xena's skin, was any indication, Xena had been under that waterfall
thinking some very hot thoughts about someone. Gabrielle wondered if any of
those thoughts had involved her.

Xena finished her soup and passed
the bowl back to Gabrielle. "Thanks."

"Here's a shift." Gabrielle fished
one out of her bag. "It'll be softer against any sunburn than your leathers,"
explained Gabrielle, almost daring Xena to argue. She tossed the thin woolen
sleeveless top at the warrior. Xena held it up to her body. The bard silently
noted it would barely cover Xena's thighs.

Xena nodded and went down to
the river to fetch her leathers and armor. In the privacy she put on the shift
and got herself under control. Gabrielle is just being nice, she scolded herself.
"You've been without for a quite a while, Xena," she told herself. And knew
she was attempting to lie to herself.

It wasn't that Xena hadn't been
sexually gratified for a while. Xena had become attracted to Gabrielle. The
younger woman's softness and innocence were like a fountain of youth. She was
strong in a way Xena didn't believe she herself ever would be, because Gabrielle
had a peace of the spirit.

Xena wanted the secret to that
peace. Xena snorted, smoothing the shift over her hips. Who was she kidding?
She wanted Gabrielle.

Xena didn't know the first thing
about seducing a woman. She'd seduced plenty of men. She'd been around a lot
of women: The Amazons, M'Lila. But she'd never been with any of them. Few she'd
even considered friend, much less considered sleeping with.

Then as she sat at the water's
edge, reluctant to return to the blankets at the fire, she thought about Gabrielle.
Would Gabrielle even want this? She's been kind to me in ways no one else ever
has. But was that just Gabrielle's way? Or was it more?

Her head spinning, Xena rose
and returned to the the fire, finding Gabrielle already laid out on her blankets.
The bard's arm pillowed her head as she studied the stars. She wore a shift
as well. She stood for a moment, just looking at her friend's lithe body. Her
legs to mid-thigh were bare, and the muscles shaping them were lean and firm.
Xena shook her head and laid down next to Gabrielle and turned onto her back
to gaze up at the same sky.

"Want another story tonight,
Xena?" asked Gabrielle keeping her eyes on the sky.

"No, I don't want to dream about
any gods tonight," Xena replied. That, it would turn out, was a mistake.

As she slept, Xena was treated
to a mental parade of the various loves of her own life: Borias, Petracles,
Caesar, each bringing her to ecstasy then abandoning her at the pinnacle of
their relationship. She dreamt of Hercules. The passion had been real, but the
feelings didn't run to love. She dreamt of Ulysses. His was almost a puppy love,
so sweet and tame, filled with soft looks and gentle caresses.

Marcus lived again in her dreams.
He gave her passion and compassion. He spoke to her of love, loyalty and shared
loss. He took her to passion's heights and clung to her as they both toppled
the precipice. His hands gentled the pounding pulses of her body, and stroked
her face, her hair, her breasts.

Marcus' hands became softer,
more tentative, stroking her brow, her cheek. His voice became a throaty whisper,
breathing words of love in her ear. His breath blew across her neck and a hand
stroked her belly.

It wasn't Marcus' hands. Xena's
eyes snapped open and she found herself wrapped in Gabrielle's sleeping embrace.
The bard's hands rested on Xena's stomach, her even breathing tickled the warrior's
neck and her body pressed to Xena's back. It was like the ride aboard Argo only
they were lying down.

Xena rolled onto her back and
lifted the bard's arm so she could slide free. The movement awakened Gabrielle.
"Sh, go back to sleep," the bard murmured, and inexplicably to Xena, grasped
the warrior more tightly around the middle and closed her eyes returning to
sleep.

Now afraid of offending her friend,
Xena did not continue her attempts to move from Gabrielle's grasp. The warrior
stifled a groan and closed her own eyes, attempting to return to sleep.

Gabrielle awakened a little
before dawn. The warrior had finally succumbed to sleep and Gabrielle accounted
herself a victory as she removed herself from Xena.

She had to hold the warrior's
head carefully as she slid her arm free. Xena had curled in ever so slightly
and her ebony head had found its way to the crook of Gabrielle's shoulder. Xena
would definitely not appreciate waking up and discovering in her sleep she'd
succumbed to such a soft moment.

As she sat up looking down at
the warrior's sleeping face, Gabrielle realized how much of her energy she spent
protecting Xena from her own soft side. At first it seemed best to do it --
Xena became vulnerable when her softer emotions surfaced at the wrong time.
Gabrielle had, without even thinking about it, taken on the task of showing
those emotions for the both of them. She would cradle an injured child when
she saw from the warrior's clenching and unclenching fists that Xena wanted
to -- desperately.

But as evidenced by their pillow
talk the other night, maybe this 'surrogacy' of emotions could be dropped. Xena
was beginning to handle expressing herself with more equanimity.

"Are you going to keep staring
at me?"

Gabrielle laughed and buffeted
the warrior's shoulder. "How do you do that? Eyes closed even," she remarked
as Xena opened her sky blue eyes with a slow smile.

Xena sat up. The two women rose
to their feet in tandem. Gabrielle shook out their blankets, doused the fire
and brought the rolled blankets and saddlebags to Xena, who was securing Argo's
tack. The warrior took the supplies and lashed them to the back of the saddle.
The two women dressed separately and returned to Argo.

"You never answered my question,"
Gabrielle said as she straightened her skirt.

"What question was that, Gabrielle?"
Xena swung onto Argo's back and reached down to help Gabrielle up behind her.

Once she was settled, Gabrielle
reminded the warrior. "I asked, 'How do you do that?' I mean of course your
ability to see me do something or someone else do something without actually
seeing them."

Xena laughed. Her voice was light
when she answered, "I can't let you in on all my secrets." Gabrielle poked at
the warrior's ribs. It didn't hurt but Xena grunted obligingly. "It's something
I picked up. It's like melting into your surroundings, letting the air or sounds
flow around you as if you were a leafy tree. Any changes are instantly picked
up."

"But I was just looking at you."

"Your breathing hitched and from
the angle I knew you were sitting above me. I guessed that you were watching
me."

"You do this all the time?"

"Well there are times when I
don't focus enough, or I'm not calm enough. Then the skill just vanishes."

"Is that why you sometimes just
tell me to stay out of a situation? So you can concentrate?" Gabrielle squeezed
Xena's waist. "I'm getting pretty good at defending myself. You don't need to
break your concentration for me."

Xena shook her head. "It stopped
being a simple matter of looking out for you, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle put a hand up on Xena's
arm, below the armor. "What is it now?"

Xena turned her head and laid
a quick kiss on the back of Gabrielle's hand. "Just your presence breaks my
concentration."

As if to prove her mistress'
words, Argo stepped in a rough section of road without warning and both women
almost lost their balance.

Xena regained it first and with
a quick hand kept Gabrielle pinned to the saddle as well. Gabrielle grabbed
Xena's hand reflexively taking a deep breath. "I see what you mean." Xena smiled
over her shoulder. Gabrielle pushed at Xena's cheek forcing the warrior to look
ahead. "Eyes forward, please."

Both women laughed.

The trip went easy as the path
crested in the mountains and the two women began their descent into eastern
Greece just after midday. Xena saw signs that a band of raiders had recently
been through. Even Gabrielle noticed the most obvious. Both women dismounted
as they approached a burned out grain store. No random brush fire would be preceded
by a long trail of boot prints scuffling in the dirt. A battle had gone on here
very recently.

"Better wipe that grin
off your face before we meet any villagers," commented the bard.

"Scary?" Xena wiped
the grin off her face and replaced it with a bland expression that coaxed a
laugh from the bard.

"A normal smile will
do, Miss Warrior Princess. You look like you swallowed a frog." She reached
up for a hand into the saddle.

As Xena pulled her up,
Gabrielle was treated to a flashing of the warrior's 'normal' smile. The sight
took the bard's breath away. Amused by the reaction, Xena said, "Satisfied?"

Gabrielle swallowed.
"Very," she finally managed.

The two trotted off
on Argo down a widened path that Xena figured led to the village.

CHAPTER FOUR

Xena and Gabrielle came
to the village without incident, and Gabrielle exclaimed aloud at the sight
of burnt out homes and scattered, dead livestock. "Who did this?" she asked
the warrior as they dismounted and began the task of trying to find someone,
anyone, among the wreckage.

Xena shook her head.
"I don't recognize any pattern. Must be a new group trying to make a name for
itself over here." She pointed to a squat building that seemed reasonably intact.
"You check in there." She untied Gabrielle's staff from Argo's saddle and tossed
it to her. "And be careful."

Gabrielle smiled as
she caught the Amazonian gift. "You too." She watched Xena walk to a nearby
hut and start moving the burnt wood aside in an effort to get within. Now Gabrielle
turned to the building she'd been given to search. It was a small mudbrick structure,
and thus only looked to be damaged by smoke. She stepped through an entryway
that must have at one point been a wooden door.

She was in a small alcove
and looked around for a way to turn. There was an opening to the right she ducked
through. Now, as her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light here, she was startled.
"Xena! I found them! Xena!" Her eyes welled with tears.

The warrior was at her
side before Gabrielle could turn around and run back out to fetch her. She looked
past Gabrielle and grabbed the bard's head and shoulders, pulling her against
her chest for solace. The warrior groaned. "Is this everyone?" she asked quietly.

Gabrielle looked back
over her shoulder and bit her lip. "Looks like a lot of them. But someone had
to bring them in here. Raiders don't clean up after themselves."

Xena nodded. "Well,
let's find that person. Or whoever. We've got a lot of work ahead of us."

Gabrielle and Xena remained
close as the two women searched the rest of the building for signs of a living
being. Each woman avoided looking at the roomful of laid out bodies, each wrapped
in burial cloths, ready for interment.

They found a young man
about Gabrielle's age coming from the southeast. He had a shovel in one hand
and a pickaxe in the other. Gabrielle approached him first, stepping from the
building's shadows.

"Hello," she began.
The young man jumped.

"Who are you?" He looked
beyond her to the squat building. "Why are you here? There's nothing left to
raid."

Gabrielle nodded. "We
know. I'm Gabrielle." She motioned Xena forward. "This is my friend Xena. Can
you tell us where the men went who did this?"

The young man took in
the measure of the warrior and stepped back. "I was off hunting for a deer to
offer for Myria's hand. I only saw their backs as they rode away." The young
man looked around. "Everything was in flames."

Xena nodded and stepped
forward, noting Gabrielle's smile of support. "So you cleaned up everything
and just now?"

"I was getting burial
plots ready." He lifted the shovel and pickaxe briefly before his arms sagged
to his side once more. "That's our temple, to Zeus. I figured the bodies would
be safe in there until I returned."

Xena nodded again. "You
were right. Even raiders don't defile temples." Xena started looking around
the dirt. "Do you remember which way the raiders rode when they left?"

The young man pointed
northwest. Xena nodded. "I'll find them," she said. "Gabrielle, I'll get Argo.
You see if you can't help --" She looked meaningfully at the young man.

"I'm Handel."

Gabrielle stepped forward
again. "Well, Handel, let's see what's next? How about some food for you?"

The bard led Handel
away from Xena. The warrior went to fetch her horse and follow the raiders'
trail out of town.

*****

It was nearing dusk
when Xena found the raiders' camp. She still didn't recognize the standard.
A new threat to the region. Well, they won't be around long enough to try
this again, she thought, studying the encampment, looking for the best surprise
entrance.

It was becoming too
dark now to take on a full assault herself. But, she grinned. Nothing
says I can't take out a few sentries. She crept around to one of the sentry
posts and snuck up behind a bearded man in only brass-studded leather armor
and helmet. She leapt in silence landing in front of him with her sword drawn
and already at the ready.

When he charged her,
though he could barely make out her form in the fading light, she permitted
herself to engage the battle. She needed quiet and she needed control. After
seeing all those bodies, and the grief on Gabrielle's face, as well as the weariness
of the sole survivor, Xena desired revenge on their behalf. But if she gave
into it. Only the gods knew what would happen.

There was a quick series
of parries and thrusts, finally Xena's blade found its mark, deep in the sentry's
chest, cutting off his air before he could scream. In silence, she stole away
from the scene.

Gabrielle greeted Xena
when the warrior returned. She looked over her friend critically. "Everything
all right?"

"I found their camp."
She studied Handel who was dozing on a bed in the anteroom of the temple. "They're
small. Only about 50 men in the whole party, but I'd like to get rid of them
before they do this again."

Gabrielle sighed. She
knew what Xena meant by 'get rid of them.' "Xena, can't we just find an Athenian
detachment and send them here to arrest them?"

"The nearest Athenian
detachment is posted back on the other side of the mountains. We're on our own
here."

Gabrielle nodded. "I
understand."

Xena put a hand on Gabrielle's
shoulder. "I think I can do this quietly. But it will take a few days to whittle
down their numbers before I can face the rest at once."

That night, Xena took
out two more sentries at the camp. In the dawning light the raiders found their
dead compatriots. The Warrior Princess kept her vigil. But the raiders did not
yet come looking for the killer of their friends.

She crouched in a bush,
thinking about lots of things, notably her last conversation with Gabrielle.
The green-eyed bard had seemed to acknowledge the battle within Xena without
saying a word. What a gift to me, Xena thought.

With those in the camp
busy burying their dead, her mind returned briefly to the odd experience at
the waterfall two days before. Marcus? She asked in silence. What
am I doing thinking of her this way? No answers were forthcoming, so Xena
returned to her work.

*****

Back in the village,
which Gabrielle had finally learned was called Notch, Gabrielle and Handel were
moving bodies to the graves dug the previous day. Handel had found a rickety
wagon to load a few of the bodies at a time and drive them out. Gabrielle assured
him it was all right to hitch Argo to pull the wagon.

While seated next to
Handel, Gabrielle's thoughts drifted away from the task at hand to the Warrior
Princess. She wondered briefly how many more men Xena had ambushed during the
night. Hopefully by dusk, Xena would return and let her know she was safe.

Over lunch, which they
took back at the temple, Handel and Gabrielle talked of Myria, and his life
in Notch.

"I guess I'll have to
move on," Handel said.

"It might be best,"
Gabrielle agreed. "The fields are all burnt and the grain store -- Xena and
I saw that when we first arrived -- is nothing but ashes. You could probably
make your way to a bigger town." She smiled lightly.

"I'm a pretty good farmer,"
Handel said. "Maybe I can rent a plot from a landowner. Start over somewhere."

Gabrielle grasped his
forearm in a gesture of support and smiled warmly. "Good thinking."

Xena returned then,
hungry and tired. She'd spent some time cleaning her weapons and herself before
she returned. She didn't want Gabrielle to have to think about what Xena was
busy doing any more than necessary.

She walked in as Gabrielle
was standing, collecting their dishes from lunch. The bard looked up at the
sound of footfalls. The smile which lit her face made Xena feel ten times better.
"Xena," cried Gabrielle. Again, she felt the critical examination as the bard's
eyes raked over her body. "How are you?"

Xena ignored the bruises
and sat down. Her eyes were dark with memory, but she put a lightness into her
voice, not knowing that Gabrielle knew it was forced. "Hungry."

Handel brought the warrior
some bread and a small portion of the offering meat which had been kept in a
small corner of the temple. "This is what we have for now."

Xena ate the bread,
and nodded that both should sit down with her. "Tell me how it goes here." Handel
took a seat across the table and Gabrielle straddled the bench next to Xena.

The two related everything,
and Handel guiltily confessed to using Argo as the wagon horse. Xena waved away
his sorrow. "Argo does -- like the rest of us -- what needs doing. Don't think
about it again, understood?"

Handel nodded and fell
silent. Gabrielle picked up the thread of conversation.

"I was telling Handel
he ought to head for a bigger town after we're through here."

"Good thinking. There
really isn't much left to start over here -- for only one man."

Handel nodded, answering
the unspoken question. "Yes, it does appear I was the only survivor. Gabrielle
and I haven't come across anyone else."

"I should be able to
call out their leader in another day, maybe two, depending."

Handel's brow drew together
worriedly. "I'd like to be there, Xena."

"It's too dangerous."
Xena was met by two equally undenied stares. "Gabrielle, if I get their leader,
they'll disband. They won't be a threat to the rest of the area. I've got them
scared now. Tomorrow I add in the possibility that Zeus himself is taking revenge."

Xena went out that night
with a small handful of kites tied with brass moldings from the hinges of the
village doors. Each one she tied to a tree around the raiders' camp. The lightning
started before the rain began to really pelt the earth. By the time the rain
was falling full force, the lightning was filling the sky. Finally one bolt
struck a tree tethered to a kite. It collapsed into the encampment. Xena couldn't
have planned the confusion any better.

She watched as the raiders
stumbled away from the fallen tree and pulled others, dead, from beneath its
broken branches. She heard mutterings of "Zeus!" and "Gods save us!" as the
men crowded into the few untouched tents.

She sneaked back into
Notch as the moon broke through the clouds and the rain began to slow. She found
Handel and Gabrielle asleep on the bed Handel had been using to doze earlier.
The two were sleeping close but not touching. Xena settled on a chair nearby
and found a bucket to upturn and use for her feet. She removed her armor, but
kept it and her sword and scabbard within easy reach as she laid back and closed
her eyes.

Gabrielle awakened a
few moments later, thinking she had heard a noise. She looked around the room
and spotted Xena asleep in the chair. She smiled and carefully got off the bed,
leaving Handel to gently snore alone.

She crossed to the chair
and crouched next to Xena's sleeping form. "You really ought to find a bed,"
she coaxed the warrior awake.

Xena's eyes lifted and
blue swam in green for a long moment. "I didn't want to disturb you and Handel."

Xena and Gabrielle stood.
Gabrielle collected Xena's armor, while the warrior picked up her sword and
scabbard. The two searched the temple for another room with a bed. They finally
found one, about two doors away from the room Handel was using. Together they
laid down.

"If he is, it's because
of you, not me," Xena snorted. "That story probably made him think soft thoughts
all over again for Danae."

Gabrielle smiled. "You
think so?" She watched as Xena rolled over and giggled when the warrior tapped
a finger on her nose. "I guess you do."

Xena smiled, for the
first time in almost two days, it wasn't a forced smile, but genuine happiness.
"Gabrielle, you're wonderful," she told the bard.

Gabrielle said nothing.
Her heart however beat double-time as the warrior closed her eyes and drifted
into sleep with a smile on her lips. "Good night, Xena," she whispered as she
too, closed her eyes.

*****

The leader of the raiders
had apparently decided that Zeus was somehow responsible for the decimation
of his raiding party. He showed up outside the temple, shouting the name of
the King of the Gods and demanding it stop.

Gabrielle and Xena awakened
to the yelling and crept into the shadows near the door to watch the leader
becoming a little unhinged.

Xena decided it was
time to meet him. "Get me one of the priests' robes, Gabrielle. I'm going out
there."

"Right," Gabrielle crept
back from the doorway then rose and ran off to the priest's rooms to fetch the
robe.

*****

In a few minutes, a
robed priest stepped from Zeus' temple and walked calmly toward the ranting
raider. In a deep voice, her face hidden by a cowl, Xena asked the raider, "Why
return to this place? Zeus has promised your destruction."

"Bah," countered the
raider, faced now with a human he viewed as far beneath him.

"Bad choice," countered
Xena, throwing off the robes and brandishing her sword. The leader absorbed
this for a minute and then Xena yelled her battle cry, shattering whatever control
he had over himself.

The rest of his raiding
party charged into the area, as the battle between the two leaders engaged.
Xena was caught in the center of this. One warrior against 25 raiders. Gabrielle,
watching from the darkness of the temple, decided the odds needed evening up,
just a little. She went to fetch her staff and wake Handel.

Within minutes it was
the three of them fighting from the center of a force of 20. Xena had dispatched
five to Hades while Gabrielle and Handel were readying themselves.

Xena concentrated on
the leader, but his followers were loyal. Several tried to interfere in the
one-on-one she was trying to have with him. She felled several with her sword
and advanced on the leader with a grim smile. It was the one Gabrielle had tried
to get Xena to wipe off her face before they entered town. Battle lust had come
home to roost.

The warrior turned from
the leader to handle a larger underling who thought to sneak up from behind.
She leapt over his head and landed behind him, but the flat of his sword found
her back. She quickly turned her sword on him and sliced his cheek and nose.
He fell away clutching his face; he would live, but a nasty scar would be a
reminder to never try and sneak up on the Warrior Princess ever again.

Xena found the leader
and decided, as her body began aching, enough was enough. Time to get this over
with.

She engaged him and
refused to give ground. Once though, the flat of his sword crashed against her
left wrist guard. Xena heard the bone crack, and angered, sent her sword into
his belly, ending his life. The fight was over. All of the raiders who remained
standing, fled when they saw their leader drop away from Xena's fatal blade.
Gabrielle and Handel chased them with staff and pitchfork until they were gone
deep in the woods.

*****

Cleaning up after the
battle took less time than the battle itself, which hadn't been all that long.
There were a few bodies to add to the burial list: raiders whom Xena had killed.
But the task was soon done and the threat was now over.

CHAPTER FIVE

The firelight helped
Gabrielle as she arranged the salves and bandages. Xena walked up; she shrugged
at the look of surprise from the bard.

"I tried lifting off
the armor. My wrist won't cooperate." The warrior lifted her left hand, a splint
encased the wrist.

Gabrielle sighed. "Come
here." She coaxed Xena next to her at the fire. She unhooked the warrior's shoulder
braces. Then carefully she lifted away the leather and brass pieces. She sucked
in a breath at the sight of Xena's bare shoulders. "You're one big bruise. Who
hit you here?" She gingerly traced one discolored patch of skin, from mid shoulder
blade to the middle of Xena's neck.

"The big one with the
scar across his nose and the gouge in his cheek," Xena replied with a wry smile.

"Which of those scars
did you give him?" Gabrielle flashed a smile of her own as she rubbed salve
into the bruise.

Xena got a gleam in
her eye and her reply was echoed by Gabrielle. "Both."

Gabrielle shook her
head as she continued to treat Xena's bruises. No cuts, just bruises. The only
thing broken appeared to be the wrist. "You got off lucky this time. How's the
wrist feel?"

"I could use a good
swig of port," Xena responded only half in humor.

Gabrielle retrieved
the wineskin. "It's only about half full, but you're welcome to it."

While Gabrielle carefully
helped her out of her leathers, to tend the rest of the bruises, Xena downed
the port. The fire from the bard's touch on her skin was dimmed by the fire
in her belly from the liquor.

Gabrielle needed this
contact with the softer Xena. Watching the warrior in battle took the bard's
breath away. But now, slowly revealing the woman, Gabrielle was reminded forcefully
of her attraction. She rubbed salve into more bruises but absorbed the feel
of flesh beneath her hands.

It was warm flesh, supple.
Not hard as she wanted to appear to her enemies. Gods, I can't do this to
her. "Xena, I'm sorry." Gabrielle pulled abruptly away from the warrior's
back.

"What is it?" The distress
on Gabrielle's face brought Xena's hands up awkwardly to caress the bard's cheek.
Gabrielle's eyes were wide and reminiscent of the look of loss she'd seen on
the bard's face when she was in Autolycus' body. Oh, no, somehow I've worried
her again. She tried for lightness. "My back's not that bad. Is it?"

Gabrielle couldn't meet
Xena's eyes. She shook her head. When that movement jarred Xena's immobile wrist,
Gabrielle grabbed the warrior's hands and pulled them into her lap, unwilling
to hurt the woman. "It's not that." She lifted her gaze finally, pinning Xena
with her green eyes. "I can't touch you anymore without --" The bard's hands
gestured toward Xena and fell back in defeat. "I just can't."

"Were you worried about
me today?" Xena tread lightly. If Gabrielle had been scared during the battle
today, Xena wanted to be sure to put her mind at ease quickly. She was surprised
when Gabrielle firmly shook her head.

"No, you've taken on
tougher odds before. This was easy. I knew it going in." She studied Xena, waiting
for the inevitable questions. She drank in the sight of the woman's bare shoulders,
the smooth line of her throat and the sparkle from the firelight that danced
in her eyes. She was startled when Xena finally spoke.

"Then what is it?" Xena
straightened, wanting to give solace but uncertain for what. The motion made
her leathers slip further down her hips, and Gabrielle caught sight of the supple
muscles of Xena's stomach.

Gabrielle swallowed,
fisting her hands in her lap to slow the thoughts in her head. "Do you remember
a conversation we had about a week ago? Since then I've had a lot of time to
consider what was said...What I said. Have you thought about it?"

Xena remembered the
conversation and the bard's fierce kiss. It had caused an invasion of Xena's
dreams for days. "Yes, I remember," she replied warily.

"How do you feel about
it? About what I said?" Gabrielle kept her eyes on Xena's face, watching the
play of a muscle in Xena's right cheek. Oh gods, she hates me for reminding
her of a weak moment.

Xena's voice was curt,
tight, as she tried to answer, but came away with only a half-truth, not sure
where the bard was leading. "I told you I'll take care of Ares. He's my problem."

Gabrielle gasped. "No,
that's not it." She touched Xena's side, running a hand along the woman's ribs.
She pulled away as Xena looked down to see Gabrielle's paler hand against the
suntanned flesh of her own body.

When Gabrielle's eyes
met Xena's again, the bard found confusion in the warrior's crystal blue eyes,
and, she noticed, Xena breathed sparingly. "Xena," Gabrielle sighed. She hurried
on in a rush before she lost her nerve. "I've been trying to seduce you for
nearly a week! You haven't reacted once!"

"Gabrielle!" Xena turned
red everywhere she wasn't black or blue. "I -- You've been --" Xena put her
right hand over Gabrielle's as it fisted in the bard's lap. "I'm not -- "

"Xena, I love
you. I've been trying to find out if you feel the same way or if I'm completely
stupid to --" The bard started to push to her feet, but Xena's grip on her hands
prevented anything more than a crouch. The warrior wasn't going to let her go.

"Well, you are definitely
not stupid, Gabrielle," Xena interrupted quietly.

The soft voice completely
stole the head of steam Gabrielle was working up. But heat of another sort was
already building. "What does that mean?" She sounded strangled, even over the
roaring in her ears. Would Xena wave off her emotions, believe that Gabrielle
had a bad case of hero-worship?

But the look on Xena's
face didn't look like when she'd put down Ulysses. It was open, a bit shy (if
one could say that about a Warrior Princess), and somewhat uncomfortable. "I
don't know what to do about it, but Gabrielle --:" It was now Xena's turn for
her nerve to begin to fail. She added quickly, "I've been fantasizing about
you since that night."

Gabrielle watched, a
grin beginning to play at her mouth, as Xena became even redder as the silence
following that statement lengthened. Mercifully the bard broke the silence.
"Mind if I do something, Xena?"

The warrior looked up.
"What?" Now Xena sounded strangled. Her blue eyes were worried, but her hands
reached for Gabrielle, drawn by the warmth in those green eyes and a power beyond
the warrior's comprehension. What can I do? She's my other half. I hope she
knows what she's doing to me.

"This." Gabrielle leaned
forward and pressed her lips to Xena's. Her hands caressed Xena's shoulders
as she slipped her mouth from the warrior's, across her cheek to her ear. Gabrielle
whispered huskily, "I hope you know this is what I've wanted, Xena. Always."
Xena's head fell back, caught in the same whirlpool she went to every time the
bard told a story, caught by that voice, that catch of breath that showed the
bard's passion for life. "So tell me. What made you so hot under that waterfall?"

"I love the way you
say my name." Gabrielle found herself pulled across Xena's lap; Xena's hands
moved to Gabrielle's cheeks.

The woman's hands, so
sure with a sword or chakram, now trembled. "Gods, Gabrielle," she breathed,
drowning in green eyes. Her love for this young woman had grown to fill her
entire heart, and it scared her.

"Sh, Xena." Gabrielle
grabbed Xena's hands and pushed them aside. "Let me show you." Gabrielle eased
down and captured Xena's mouth in a kiss eliciting passion. Xena moaned. In
that moment, the warrior completely dropped away unleashing the woman. Gabrielle's
hands stroked Xena's flesh, followed closely by her mouth over the sensitive
places. Shivers coursed through Xena when Gabrielle kissed the apex of her neck
and shoulder.

"Talk to me. Tell me
what to do -- for you." Xena needed to hear the bard's voice, to fall away into
the sea of feeling that only Gabrielle's presence and voice could create.

"I'd tell you a story,
but I'm a little busy right now." The bard chuckled, her breath enhancing the
kisses on her way down Xena's collarbone. She shifted, and her hair brushed
Xena's skin, making the warrior shiver. Gabrielle shifted to find a better position
over her warrior. Xena couldn't help a small yelp of pain when Gabrielle pressed
her knee into the warrior's broken left wrist.

Worry lining her face,
Gabrielle stopped and pulled back, critically examining the warrior, eliciting
another moan from Xena, this one of an entirely different distress -- the ache
of being alone. "Are you all right?"

With her good right
hand, Xena pulled the bard's face to hers for a quick kiss. Her sigh was half-laugh
as she murmured, "Stay off my wrist and I'll be fine."

Gabrielle returned to
her joyous task -- discovering the woman's responses. She stroked across Xena's
stomach and watched as the muscles contracted at her touch. Xena laid back.
"You have such strength, Xena. Ever since we started traveling together, I've
watched you. I admire the strength you show, and that which you hide -- the
strength you have when you fight and when you love. I often wondered if it couldn't
be just for me." She kissed the warrior's stomach, smiling into the soft skin
when she felt Xena jump.

"Gabrielle, I don't
--" Xena's breath was thready; Gabrielle glanced up to see the warrior's eyes
were closed. "I'm not sure --"

"Sh, but strength can
be soft. You've proven it. Let me show you your softness." Her hand slipped
lower. She stroked down Xena's body, and pushed aside the rest of the warrior's
leathers. She threaded her fingers through Xena's mound of dark hair. The slight
tug on her mons released a flood of sensations in the pit of Xena's belly. Gabrielle
stroked a single fingertip over Xena's clit. The woman's hips leapt off the
blankets. "Gods," breathed Xena, grasping Gabrielle's shoulders, but the younger
woman wasn't finished.

The bard sat back, taking
her hands from Xena for the moment. The warrior opened her eyes. Gabrielle answered
the questioning look with a raised eyebrow. Xena, despite being caught in a
maelstrom of sensations, smiled. "Xena?"

"Gabrielle," answered
the warrior, sitting up. She touched the bard's hair in awe. "You really feel
this way about me?" Xena shook her head in amazement.

"I always have. And
I've known since you came back to me from the other side that I never want anyone
else." She caressed Xena's cheek. "And I hope you don't either, because I discovered
I can be very jealous." Gabrielle captured Xena's mouth again in another kiss,
this one conveying less passion than possessiveness.

Xena reached up and
touched Gabrielle's mouth. "You always have the right words," she marveled.
"I want to make you happy, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle shook her
head. "You've not run from me, which I believed was possible. No, let me show
you how much I care for you."

The bard leaned back,
supporting her head with her other hand so she could watch Xena's face. She
slipped a finger into Xena's wet core. Then another. "You're so soft inside,"
Gabrielle whispered, watching a tear escape Xena's closed eyes. "It's nothing
to be afraid of. It's beautiful. As you are. I want to always help you be strong,
Xena. But it's the softness I will always cherish."

Caught by the love expressed
in the bard's words, Xena's eyes flew open. Gabrielle fell into pools of mesmerizing
turbulent sea-blue as she felt Xena's muscles contract convulsively around her
finger. The bard wiggled her fingers just barely and felt Xena bear down, a
climax catching the warrior off guard. "Gabrielle!" The bard's name burst from
the warrior's lips. Xena felt every muscle in her body go slack as her core
soaked Gabrielle's hand. Gabrielle's fingers left Xena's center and stroked
hip, then side, and finally cheek to soothe. Xena tried to calm her racing heart.
"Gods, Gabrielle. I never imagined. I -- Have you done this before?"

The bard shook her head.
"Only in my dreams, Xena."

Xena smiled. She grasped
Gabrielle's hand, feeling the dampness of her own release on the bard's fingers
and kissed the woman's lips gently. "Next time," she breathed against the bard's
mouth. "Next time you have a dream, wake me. I'd like to share it." Xena's voice
began to fade as exhaustion settled in nestling with the warm feelings.

"You just did," replied
Gabrielle, kissing Xena on the nose, as the warrior's eyes closed and she snuggled
to the bard's breast.

Sleep didn't last long
for Xena. Being caught in love with her bard, the warrior was willing to remain
aside so that the woman could enjoy the precious time. Xena was still a woman
of the moment, unwilling to let something lie if it could be otherwise.

Gabrielle was stroking
her hair and the sensations coaxed her to wakefulness. "Gabrielle?"

"Yes, Xena?"

"Can I bring you the
same happiness?"

"Are you saying you're
happy?"

Xena nodded into the
bard's shoulder. This was new territory and Xena was a little surprised to find
herself needing guidance.

"Do what makes you feel
wonderful."

"Huh?" Xena pushed to
her elbows next to the bard and met smiling green eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I did. No one ever
knew that before. All my...other...Never mind." Xena was suddenly reluctant
to bring up anything from her past. Somehow, she decided, that would tear this
peacefulness apart.

But Gabrielle wanted
to hear it. Xena wanted guidance, and Gabrielle knew only what Xena would tell
her of her experiences. "Go on," she coaxed with a gentle brush of her knuckles
against the warrior's cheek.

Gabrielle sighed. "How
can I be the more experienced one, Xena? Have you never really been loved?"
She touched the woman's lips. "I really love you. All of you. Past, present
and future. Tell me what you like. Or if you prefer, show me."

Xena blushed. "I --
oh, gods, Gabrielle. I do desperately want to love you. But I'm not sure I know
how. The men in my life were a focus for passion, mostly battle lust. But with
you, I feel -- I don't know. Somehow it's different. You're different." She
sat up and glanced back down at Gabrielle, who looked up with only patience
and love shining in her green eyes. "What I feel for you isn't lust. It's..."
She took a deep breath, and continued, "Incredible. You're a part of me. I don't
think I could ever do without you." Xena fell silent trying to examine her emotions
and put them into words.

Gabrielle waited. What
Xena was expressing was worth her patience, until the warrior could get it out.
The bard sensed that soon enough words would fail and Xena would seek her arms
again.

"In my experience, sex
was always about power. Something given for something obtained." Gabrielle nodded.
She'd guessed as much. Maybe that was why Xena was having such a hard time taking
the act of sex and seeing it as an act of something non-possessive, a non-power
struggle, an act of love.

"What do you think I
want from you?" asked Gabrielle, putting to words the question that might put
Xena on track to her emotions.

Xena shook her head.
"I don't think you want anything."

"That surprises you?"
Gabrielle sat up, putting her hand on Xena's bent knee, as the warrior encircled
her knees with her arms. "That's not exactly true, though, you know."

"What?"

"I do want something,
Xena." Gabrielle lifted the warrior's chin as her shoulders started to droop.
"Don't worry. I'm hoping to help you give it to me."

"What is it?"

"Your happiness."

Xena's smile was spontaneous
then. Her bard had yet again found the right words. "Gabrielle, I think I'm
ready to show you."

Xena laughed and the
two women sank back to the blankets. Xena was tentative at first, but Gabrielle
encouraged her, removing her own top. "You could never hurt me, Xena." Gabrielle
found that Xena was an eager pupil. She questioned everything. "Gods, Xena,
stop talking," Gabrielle finally managed as Xena's breathy questions sent shivering
tingles across her stomach. "I had to find the most talkative woman in Greece,
who doesn't speak nearly as many words out of bed as in it."

Xena laughed. The bard's
reactions to her touch were gratifying, and it never seemed like a power play,
unless it was somehow Gabrielle wielding power over her. The bard was beautiful
in her passion.

Xena touched Gabrielle's
body, exploring the taut muscles of her stomach, caressing the lean muscles
of her thighs. But she liked Gabrielle's face and throat most of all. There
was something about feeling the bard's pulse against her lips and tasting the
tongue that spoke such wonderful words that brought Xena again to her own precipice.

"Gabrielle, I want to
bring you with me over the edge," Xena whispered. "Help me."

Gabrielle's eyes opened
slowly, having been pressed shut against the roiling of sensations in her body
as Xena touched and kissed her. "Touch me, Xena."

Xena's hand stroked
down across the planes of Gabrielle's stomach and she felt the well-tanned leather
of the amazon skirt. Her hands slid up beneath the skirt, caressing the muscles
of her legs. At the apex of her thighs, Xena found Gabrielle wet and warm. "Did
I do that to you?" Xena asked in amazement, stroking the wetness she found.
She looked up and found Gabrielle biting her lip. "What is it? Am I hurting
you?"

Gabrielle shook her
head. "Gods, Xena, I told you you'd never hurt me. But always believe me. This
is the best torture you've ever conducted."

Xena smiled, burying
her face in Gabrielle's shoulder and taking a deep breath of the bard's sun-kissed
fragrant hair. Below, her fingers found the bard's clit and it was barely a
touch, but Xena found herself knocked aside by the violent reaction of Gabrielle's
hips. "Hey!"

"All right," replied
Xena, who followed that with a stroke of a finger deep into Gabrielle's center.
A flood of warmth eased her way, as, at the same moment, the bard found her
release and convulsed around the warrior's fingers. Gabrielle's scream was caught
in Xena's mouth, and the older woman's ears rang with the echo even before the
sound finished coming from the bard. "Gods, you are loud."

Gabrielle was a bit
sheepish as she focused her eyes on Xena's face. "I'm sorry."

"Were you this loud
on your wedding night?" asked Xena tentatively. Suddenly, she felt like she
was competing with the dead Perdicas, which was absurd, but even in just the
last candlemark, Gabrielle had convinced her to go with her feelings. The results
were often very rewarding.

Gabrielle shook her
head. "I don't think so. I was too nervous." She looked at Xena. "With you,
on the other hand, I feel anything but nervous." She pushed Xena onto her back
and kissed her way down to the peak of a breast.

Xena threw her head
back, reveling in the pull that the bard's suckling caused not in her breasts,
but in her stomach and lower. "Gabrielle," she sighed.

"Say it again," whispered
the bard, moving to the other breast. "Call me, Xena."

"Gabrielle," she sighed
again.

Gabrielle and Xena fell
asleep cradled in each other's arms. Xena felt soft as she drifted into a peaceful
sleep. But it wasn't scary. Gabrielle had shown her so much, and tonight had
only proven that the warrior woman could be both warrior and woman. She looked
into Gabrielle's sleeping face and felt tears pricking at her eyes. I love
you, Gabrielle. Even Marcus couldn't make me feel both at the same time.

She knew then, that
that realization must have been with her all the time. That's why Gabrielle
so easily replaced Marcus in her daydreams. She kissed the bard's shoulder and
fell asleep surrounded by the smells of their lovemaking and Gabrielle's heart
beating next to her ear.

Gabrielle awakened the
next morning to find Xena leaning over her, dressed in her leathers. She smiled
at the soft look in the warrior's eyes before the sun was blocked out and they
were nose to nose. The warrior's lips brushed over her own. Gabrielle sighed
and murmured, "Mmm, that's a nice way to wake up. Much better than a fish in
the face." Xena laughed.

"I did make breakfast
this morning," commented Xena as she trailed kisses over Gabrielle's breasts,
throat and stomach.

"Well," said Gabrielle.
"If I have to die, this is definitely the way to go."